RC Plane Fuselage

thingiverse

I'm intrigued by the concept of 3D printed aircraft, but their weight and durability are significant hurdles. Nevertheless, I've designed this fuselage to showcase the potential of 3D printing in specific situations. The wing and tail surfaces will still be crafted from foam board due to its superior properties. The fuselage of a radio control aircraft is notoriously difficult to build using foam board, especially when considering electronics and crash damage. That's why I created this design - to eliminate the challenges associated with constructing a fuselage from foam board and make replacement parts easily accessible. 3D printing offers several advantages, such as pre-designed servo mounts and aerodynamic shapes that can be achieved without tedious sanding. I've uploaded the CAD files in STL, STEP, and Fusion360 formats, allowing you to customize the fuselage according to your needs. You can add a motor mount to the nose or adjust the servo mounts to suit your requirements. When assembling the fuselage, I recommend using CA glue for its excellent bonding properties with PLA and minimal weight addition. Additionally, ensure that the canopy clip is securely attached to the canopy as shown in one of the uploaded photos. This design is optimized for use with CS-929MG servos and an 8mm diameter carbon tube for the rear tail. The recommended maximum battery size is 35x35x100mm. The wing will be secured using rubber bands and 2x 4mm rods that pass through the fuselage's holes. Since I plan to mount motors on the wings, there isn't a motor mount on the fuselage; however, feel free to modify it for your application. Here are the printer settings used: * Material: PLA Plastic * Nozzle Diameter: 0.4mm * Layer height: 0.2mm * Extrusion multiplier: 1.05 (5% more than my usual setting) * Nozzle temperature: 220C (hot for strong layer bonds) * Bed temperature: 40C * Cooling fan: OFF * Print speed: 1500mm/min * Thin wall behavior: Allow single extrusion walls * Allow perimeter overlap: 50% * Minimum Extrusion Length: 0.00mm * Minimum printing width: 50% * Maximum printing width: 200% * Endpoint extension distance: 0.2mm * Infill: 10% (for the solid rear section of fuselage) You can find a tutorial on designing your own lightweight 3D printed parts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ8dy_4DVfE